In four years, U.S. might be good enough

Belgium's Jan Vertonghen, left, and United States' DeAndre Yedlin challenge for the ball during the World Cup round of 16 soccer match between Belgium and the USA at the Arena Fonte Nova in Salvador, Brazil, Tuesday, July 1, 2014. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)

Belgium's Jan Vertonghen, left, and United States' DeAndre Yedlin challenge for the ball during the World Cup round of 16 soccer match between Belgium and the USA at the Arena Fonte Nova in Salvador, Brazil, Tuesday, July 1, 2014. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)

Belgium's Jan Vertonghen, left, and United States' DeAndre Yedlin challenge for the ball during the World Cup round of 16 soccer match between Belgium and the USA at the Arena Fonte Nova in Salvador, Brazil, Tuesday, July 1, 2014. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)

The United States needed magic, but it had no magicians, no John Elways or Michael Jordans or Muhammad Alis, no rabbits to pull out of its limited caps in a World Cup haberdashery stocked with international headgear.

The U.S. needed George Patton and instead got George McClellan.

The American soccer team survived the Group of Death and looked for a brace of light vs. Belgium Tuesday in the Cup’s knockout round of 16. But in the end they simply weren’t good enough or relentless enough -- until it was too late, falling to a low country I know as one of beer, waffles, speedskating and Hercule Poirot.

That they fell to the Red Devils 2-1 in extra time -- it was nil-nil, as futbol mavens prefer, in regulation -- hardly is a disgrace. But, forgetting for a moment how enthralled the U.S. became with this Cup, they still got beat, and there is no such thing as a bad win, no such thing as a good loss.

Nice tries get you a ticket home. Which is where they’re headed.

If it hadn’t been for a magnificent effort by goalie Tim Howard, it might have been 8-0. For the first 90-plus minutes, the Belgians totally dominated, although it, too, often had its youth showing and missed chance upon chance.

That the Americans allowed two goals in extra time and then came back and scored on a nice goal by Julian Green set up by Michael Bradley and then had a few good chances to tie it says something about their grit, but doesn’t explain their early timidity.

What they did after trailing 2-0 was what they should have been doing the previous 100-plus minutes in Salvador, Brazil. Attack. I don’t believe coach Jurgen Klinsmann was playing for a shootout, but there’s no reason why -- especially after a first half in which Belgium seemed to have 20 players on the lawn at once -- he wasn’t more aggressive in an all-or-nothing scenario.

“Why we didn’t try to push it in the second half is beyond me,” said Juli Veee, the greatest of all Sockers and a former member of the U.S. team. “They talked about how far the U.S. had to travel in this World Cup (8,900 air miles to Belgium’s 1,100) and having to play in all that humidity may have made them tired.

“Both teams have to play in it. Belgium is a humid country. I couldn’t care less. I played in Belgium for two years and I never saw the sun.”

Perhaps America’s biggest problem is that it has yet to produce a truly great soccer player, that Elway or Jordan to get them through. Good players, yes. Improved, yes. When Klinsmann said his team had no chance to win this Cup it was a surprising quote only because of its horrible timing, not its accuracy.

The U.S. had but 72 attacks in its first three Cup games, ranking 31st among the 32 teams. After losing 1-0 to Germany, Klinsmann said his team would push more. He must have been talking to himself. Belgium outshot the Americans 38-14. At one point it was 20-3.

As my daddy always said, you can’t win if you don’t score.

“I thought the defense got tired and worn down near the end,” Veee said. “If (Clint) Dempsey is your best player, you’ve got to feed him more; you’ve got to create more chances. They couldn’t keep the ball. Bradley may be a good player, but what has he done?

“I’m very disappointed for our boys. It would have been great for America if they went through.”

They may have been beaten, but it’s hard to say all is lost. Who knows what this team will be like four years from now? Who knows if Klinsmann will remain coach? Maybe a star will emerge from the jillions of kids who play the game.

It’s hard to call this a crushing defeat, really, because the U.S. was outclassed and outplayed. But there was a glimmer of hope in the determination. They had the hardest road, thanks to FIFA being a gang of heartless and unfair thugs.

“I think they will be good,” Veee said. “If Klinsmann stays, in four years they may be very good.”